March 3, 2019

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Tom Hoey; John Dunham (mic)

10:15 – 11:00 Quaker Discernment and Clearness Committees with John Kraft. An important feature of Quaker faith and practice is listening together to discern the leadings of the Light in our lives. Learn a little about the history of this practice and explore guidance from Northern Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice, British Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice, and Iowa Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice. We will also share our experience in using this tool in our lives.

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Carolyn VandenDolder, speaker; Jacque Wiersma, musician; care of meeting, Judith James; Jim Lovestar (mic)

“On subjects of which we know nothing, or should I say Beings – we both believe, and disbelieve a hundred times an Hour, which keeps Believing nimble.” ~ Emily Dickinson

You – visitors and regulars – are welcome at the potluck TODAY at the rise of second worship! To regulars, please help with this do-it-ourselves affair by helping to clear tables and wash, dry and put away dishes, tables and chairs.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Next Sunday at 9:45: Monthly meeting for business. On the agenda – Nominating Committee committee nominations; Fall Together 2019 discussion; Stewardship and Finance Committee budget for 2019-20; State of the Society assignment.
“In our meetings for worship we seek through the stillness to know God’s will for ourselves and for the gathered group. Our meetings for church affairs, in which we conduct our business, are also meetings for worship based on silence, and they carry the same expectation that God’s guidance can be discerned if we are truly listening together and to each other, and are not blinkered by preconceived opinions. It is this belief that God’s will can be recognised through the discipline of silent waiting which distinguishes our decision-making process from the secular idea of consensus. We have a common purpose in seeking God’s will through waiting and listening, believing that every activity of life should be subject to divine guidance.”
–Britain Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice

The Nominating Committee’s initial committee slate is available on the elevator table. Committee nominations come to monthly meeting for approval next week. Direct feedback prior to monthly meeting to the committee: Doug, Annamary, Debbie, Jim, and Rick.

Quaker Earthcare Witness is coming to the Twin Cities! In January, 2018, MFM approved co-hosting the QEW Steering Committee’s semi-annual meeting from April 11-14, 2019.
– If you are able to open your home to out-of-town Friends coming to the meeting, please let Carolyn know.
– Save the evenings of April 12th and 13th when local Friends will host potluck dinners and plenary sessions (Fri night at Twin Cities Meeting with Friends School of MN presenting on Protecting Pollinators; Sat night at Minneapolis Meeting with a Transition Town panel presenting.) If you can help with the nuts and bolts of the potluck or commit to bringing a hearty (vegetarian) main dish, please let Carolyn know.
– Local Friends are warmly invited to attend whatever part(s) of the QEW meeting of interest to you. Registration (helpful for a meal count if you want to stay and eat lunch Thurs– Sat but not needed for other attendance) and schedule info here .

Congratulations to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Quaker Voluntary Service program and those who helped with recruitment! The seven hosting organizations for 2019-20 are: Friends for a NonViolent World, Bridging, NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, Our Saviour’s Housing, Sweet Pea Montessori, Take Action MN, and MN Interfaith Power and Light (alternate).

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Friends School of MN will be hosting a coffee with “Heads & Tales” with the “Heads,” Rick and Sara, hoping to enjoy more time with you. The “Tales” are topics of interest that the Heads will share a bit about, then listen to your perspectives and questions. Tuesday, March 12, 2019, 8:45-10:30 a.m.

A memorial service for Nathan Slowinski will be at 11 AM Sat, March 16th at Twin Cities Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave. St Paul.

Northern Yearly Meeting’s (NYM) Spring Interim Session will be March 22-23 at Madison Monthly Meeting on Friday night, March 22, 7-9 PM, and Saturday, March 23, 9 AM-5 PM. Madison Monthly Meeting will provide overnight hospitality to those who request it. Come spend time among Friends, hear about NYM committee work, and enjoy the life and business of Northern Yearly Meeting. Send housing requests as well as special dietary or rooming needs to Marilee at hospitality(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)northernyearlymeeting.org.

Pendle Hill Conference Center’s First Monday series will continue at 7:30 (EST) on March 4 with “Confronting the Role of Antisemitism in Preserving Power Structures” with Reconstructionist Rabbi, Mordechai Liebling. Antisemitism has been used for centuries to divert the anger of oppressed people from the powerful elite toward Jews. It has also been used to divide progressive movements, gaining visibility and traction as wealth and income gaps widen. To be successful, a progressive movement will need to address antisemitism. Registration needed; click here to live-stream the event.

Friends General Conference (FGC) will again provide a discount to the upcoming White Privilege Conference, (March 20-23 in Cedar Rapids, IA,) a secular conference that unpacks how whiteness originated; what systemic racism looks like; how race, gender, and class intersect (as privilege, oppression, or a combination); and more. Registration is now open. Click here to pre-register through FGC in order to receive the discount code to apply to your registration and to request hospitality with local Friends. Click here to read about FGC’s past involvement in WPC.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Bring items you wish you could fix – small household appliances, clothing, electronics, mobile devices and more – and receive free guided assistance from volunteers with repair skills to disassemble, troubleshoot and fix your items! Fix It Clinic at Armatage Park, 2500 W 57th St, Minneapolis, next Sat, March 9th noon – 4:00 PM.

The White Ally Tool Kit Training will be offered by the MN Peacebuilding Institute on Fri March 8 (1-4:15 PM) or Sat March 9 (8:30-11:45AM) at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, lower level, 4100 Lyndale Ave, Mpls. The toolkit equips white allies to do the vital, sorely needed, conversational work with other whites so that racial equity efforts can succeed.

Help move Minnesota beyond the legacy of enslavement with Coming to the Table, (CTTT,) 10:30 AM – noon, March 16th and every third Sat at Sumner Library (in the Friends of the Sumner Library Rm), 611 Van White Memorial Blvd. Mpls. At CTTT, descendants of those who were enslaved and descendants of slave owners and all those interested in safe constructive dialogue, come together to help create a just and truthful society that acknowledges and seeks to heal the racial wounds from the historical trauma of slavery, and the racism it continues to spawn. CTTT provides relationship engagement, leadership, resources, and a supportive environment to dismantle racism, rooted in the United States’ history of slavery.

All My Relations Art’s exhibit, Bring Her Home – Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island, on view until Jun 21, 1414 E Franklin Ave, Mpls. Highlighting the ongoing epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Bring Her Home shares visual stories of the impacted women and families while honoring the lift of each Indigenous woman as we would a sister, a wife, a mother, a best friend, a cousin, or daughter. Click here for more.

OFFICE HOURS
Carolyn VandenDolder, the interim Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed afternoon and Thurs and Fri, 10:30-4:00. Phone messages will be checked daily. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Bulletin items can be phoned in to the office, emailed, or written and put in the bulletin file of the blue box.